Augmented reality is a direct or indirect experience by an individual to supplement elements into the user's perception of a physical, real-world environment. Typically, augmented elements include sensory input, e.g., such as sound, video or graphics, scents or smells, or other. In contrast, virtual reality is an experience by an individual where the real environment is replaced by a simulated one.
Various technologies have been developed for producing virtual and augmented reality and multi-sensory applications for entertainment, education, engineering, advertising, biomedical and medicine including remote surgery, military, and other purposes. For example, technologies that can provide sensory effects to the user or observer, e.g., including haptics, scents, wind or mist, have been introduced into virtual reality and entertainment applications for the purpose of creating the feeling of greater realism and for providing for a more immersive experience. Design of scent delivery devices that allow reliable, rapid switching of scented air flux in a repeatable manner by synchronizable, remote actuation could have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the virtual, sensory, immersive, or augmented reality experience. Furthermore, such devices should offer practical, economic, scalable, mechanically and electrically reliable, and efficient on-demand control and precision-timed scent delivery for effective use by individual users or groups.